Flange forming attachment for rivet guns



W. L. V. BISHOP v FLANGE FORMING ATTACHMENT FOR RIVET GUNS Filed Sept. 26, 1944 June 1, 1948.

,2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor P) 0 H w B m f C m H D m m WWW Em June 1, 1948. w v, BISHOP 2,442,556

FLANGE FORMING ATTACHMENT FOR RIVET GUNS Filed Sept. 26, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 #1 illiiilllllllln 1 1 Inventor ML LHEDLEE V/NCENT Blah op,

B, @Mwii' Patented June 1, i948 QFFICE FLANGE FORMING ATTACHMENT FOR mvrrr GUNS ard Leevacem B s op, Ho olulu,

Territo y of Hawaii Application September 26, 1944, Serial No, 555,855

3 Claims. (Cl. 153' 21) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in attachments for rivet guns and has for its primary object to provide means for forming a flange on sheet metal, such as wing ribs and other structural parts.

Ordinarily, it has been the custom to form the flange on such airplane parts by hand which has proved to be quite a lengthy and tiresome job and accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment for a rivet gun by means of which flanges on wing ribs and other parts may be more easily and quickly accomplished.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a flange forming attachment of this character which may be easily and quickly attached to and removed from a conventional form of rivet gun without necessitating any changes or alterations in the construction thereof.

A still further object is to provide an attachment of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in performance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational View of the flange forming attachment.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken substantially on a line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a similar View taken substantially on a line 66 of Figure 1, and

Figure 7 is a side elevational view of the rivet die by means of which the attachment is connected to the rivet gun.

Figure 8 is a perspective view, fragmentary in character, showing, with greater particularity, the mode of using the tool and the form of the flange as angularly bent by said tool.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 5 designates a head member preferably constructed of hard fiber or similar suitable material and having a relatively broad tapering front end 6 providing a flange bending and form:

ing wed e. The rear end of the head 5 is formed with a socket 1 adapted for snugly receiving the outwardly projecting end of a conventional form of rivet die carried by a rivet gun 9, the die being reciprocably actuated by the gun to thus produce the desired intermittent reciprocating movements for the head 5.

A pair of plates iii are attached to the opposite sides of the head 5 and project upwardly and forwardly therefrom and to which a shrink block H is pivotally attached intermediate its end by the pins l 2, the shrink block being spaced slightly above the top of the head 5 as shown to advantage in Figure 1 of the drawings.

A coil spring l3 has its opposite ends recessed in the top of the head 5 and at the underside of the rear end of the block H and the front end of the shrink blockprojects forwardly of the tapered or wedged end 5 of the head and is formed at its underside with a vertically extending slot 14 substantially in alignment with the extremity of the front edge of the block 5.

The slot l 4 is adapted to receive the upper edge A of the sheet metal B5 on which a flange is to be formed and with the opposite edge of the sheet metal inserted between the jaws I 6 of a work holding means l'l.

Accordingly, in the operation of the device during the intermittent reciprocation of the head 5 by the rivet gun the wedge-shaped end 6 of the head will strike the sheet metal and cause a slight bending thereof to progressively form a flange thereon while the head 5 and shrink block I I are manually and bodily shifted longitudinally along the edge of the metal.

It is believed that the details of construction and manner of use of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing without further detailed explanation.

Having thus described the invention, what claim is:

1. A flange-forming tool of the class described comprising an elongated head having its outer work-engaging end fashioned into a wedge, the inner end of said head being provided with a socket, said socket for reception of a rivet die on a rivet gun, an elongated block disposed in superposed, spaced relation above said head, means pivotally mounting said block intermediate its ends on said head, the inner end of said block terminating in spaced relation to the corresponding inner end of said head, the outer end of said block projecting outwardly and beyond the terminal vertex of said wedge, said projecting portion being provided with a lateral slot, said slot adapted for reception of an edge portion of the sheet metal to be bent.

2. A flange-forming tool of the class described comprising an elongated head having its outer work-engaging end fashioned into a V-shaped wedge, the inner end of said head being provided with a socket, said socket for reception of a rivet die on a rivet gun, an elongated block disposed in superposed spaced relation above said head, means pivotally and swingably mounting said shrink block intermediate the ends or said bloclc on said head, the inner end of said block termimating in spaced relation to the corresponding end of said head, the outer end of said block projecting outwardly and beyond the terminal tip of said wedge, said projecting portion being provided with a slot at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said head, said slot adapte for reception of an edge portion of the sheet metal to be bent, and a coiled spring interposed between the inner end portions of the head and block respectively, said spring being operatively connected with said head and block.

3. A flange-forming device for sheet metal comprising an elongated, block-like head, the outer work-engaging end thereof being tapered to form a V-shaped flanging wedge, the inner end of said block being provided with a longitudinally 4 disposed socket, said socket being adapted for reception of a rivet die provided on a rivet gun, plates attached to opposite sides of said head inwardly of the terminal tip of the wedge, said plates having their upper ends projecting above the upper portion of said head, an elongated block arranged and pivotally suspended intermediate its ends between the upper ends of said plates, said block overlying the major portion of said head in spaced relation, the inner end thereof being spaced from the inner end of said head,

- a coiled spring mounted and interposed between the inner end portions of said head and block respectively, the outer end of said block projecting beyond the terminal of said wedge and being provided with a lateral slot for reception of the adjacent edge portion of the metal to be bent.

WILLARD LEE VINCENT BISHOP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 25 Number Name Date 1,258,206 Fetcher Mar. 5, 1918 2,178,926 Brickman et al Nov. 7, 1939 2,233,937 Hexdall Mar, 4, 1941; 2,263,952 Mercorelli Nov. 25, 1941 

